Global Climates and Biomes Chapter 4 Global Climates and Biomes Friedland and Relyea Environmental Science for AP®, second edition ©2015 W.H. Freeman and Company/BFW AP® is a trademark registered and/or owned by the College Board®, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product.

Module 9 The Unequal Heating of Earth After reading this module you should be able to Identify the five layers of the atmosphere. Discuss the factors that cause unequal heating of Earth. Describe how Earth’s tilt affects seasonal differences in temperatures.

Earth's atmosphere is composed of layers

Atmospheric Layers Troposphere A layer of the atmosphere closest to the surface of Earth, extending up to approximately 16 km (10 miles). This is the layer where Earth’s weather occurs. Air temperature decreases with distance from the Earth’s Surface.

Atmospheric Layers Stratosphere The layer of the atmosphere above the troposphere, extending roughly 16 to 50 km (10–31 miles) above the surface of Earth. The ozone layer can be found within the Stratosphere. The ozone layer absorbs most of the Sun’s UV-B radiation and all of the UV-C radiation.

Atmospheric Layers The outer layers are the mesosphere, the thermosphere and the exosphere. Pressure and density in these layers continues to decrease. Thermosphere-contains charged gas molecules that when hit by solar energy, begin to glow and produce light. Known as the northern lights or aurora borealis. Only seen from high latitudes.

Layers of the Atmosphere Video Atmospheric Layers Layers of the Atmosphere Video

The amount of solar energy reaching Earth varies with location As the Sun's energy passes through the atmosphere and strikes land and water, it warms the surface of Earth. But this warming does not occur evenly across the planet because: The angle at which the Sun's rays strike varies. The amount of surface area over which the Sun's rays are distributed varies. Some areas of Earth reflect more solar energy than others. Albedo -The percentage of incoming sunlight reflected from a surface.

The Amount of Solar Energy Reaching Earth Differential heating of Earth. Tropical regions near the equator receive more solar energy than mid-latitude and polar regions, where the Sun’s rays strike Earth’s surface at an oblique angle.

The Amount of Solar Energy Reaching Earth Albedo. The albedo of a surface is the percentage of the incoming solar energy that it reflects. Snow and ice reflect much of the solar energy that they receive, but darker objects such as forests and asphalt paving reflect very little energy, which means that they absorb most of the solar energy that strikes them.

Earth's tilt causes seasonal changes in climate The Earth's axis of rotation is tilted 23.5 ˚. When the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun, the Southern Hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun, and vice versa.

Earth's Tilt and the Seasons

Earth’s Seasons The Earth’s axis of rotation is tilted 23.5° Due to the tilt, the latitude that receives the most direct rays of the Sun and the most hours of daylight changes throughout the year as Earth orbits the Sun. Thus Earth’s tilt produces predictable seasons. Reasons for the Seasons